Quick question about moving up the ladder

**ChristyR2D2** · July 18th, 2015, 12:50 PM

I'm thinking about moving on to OWL. I still have about 70-90 pounds I'd like to lose, so I have plenty of time to work through it slowly. I know this is probably a really silly question, but I want to make sure I do this correctly.

Would I first add 5 g of carbs from acceptable veggies and then when I move up the ladder to fresh cheeses, nuts & seeds, etc., drop the previous category, so that I stay at 25 g? And then once I've moved through all the categories, go back to veggies & add 5 more & stay at 30 g?

**SunnySmile501** · July 18th, 2015, 01:22 PM

No--you keep adding each new rung, and the next 5 grams of carbs, in addition to the previous rung, as long as the current rung was tolerated without cravings, weight gain, or intolerance to that food group. You are working to find your maximum intake of carbs while still losing weight, called CCLL--Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing--and which foods you are not able to tolerate. Many of us find out that our CCLL and CCLM (maintenance) is a low 30 to 40 grams, but you won't know that until you try all the rungs correctly and run into that brick wall that lets you add no more carbs and still lose or maintain. You are wise to take this slowly--there are no shortcuts.

**ChristyR2D2** · July 18th, 2015, 04:51 PM

Okay! Thanks! I'm glad I asked.

**chinadoll** · July 19th, 2015, 10:01 PM

And add one food item at a time--not a whole category. Otherwise of your body doesnt work with a particular food you won't be able to tell which food was the problem

**wlben** · December 6th, 2016, 06:33 PM

Originally Posted by SunnySmile501

No--you keep adding each new rung, and the next 5 grams of carbs, in addition to the previous rung, as long as the current rung was tolerated without cravings, weight gain, or intolerance to that food group. You are working to find your maximum intake of carbs while still losing weight, called CCLL--Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing--and which foods you are not able to tolerate. Many of us find out that our CCLL and CCLM (maintenance) is a low 30 to 40 grams, but you won't know that until you try all the rungs correctly and run into that brick wall that lets you add no more carbs and still lose or maintain. You are wise to take this slowly--there are no shortcuts.

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a "RUNG" and where do I find the info about it?
Thank you.

**jimmie 48** · December 6th, 2016, 07:54 PM

Originally Posted by wlben

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a "RUNG" and where do I find the info about it?
Thank you.

you won't actually find the word "rung" in the book. what you will find is the reference to "ladder". a good place to find that reference is in chapter 14 page 171. because of the ladder reference given by Dr. Atkins and then the list of foods to be added in a particular order we come up "rungs".

**wlben** · December 7th, 2016, 08:42 AM

Okay. Thanks. I got it. I've been doing that, but just to add carbs not the fat. Didn't think much about the fat.
So. Should I keep on eating to get my "FAT" (as well as my protein) into the Green?
The reason I ask is because I enjoy putting all my food into my "Daily View" and seeing where I'm at. I googled and found that I should be in the 12 to 1500 range for calories and that my fiber should be about 10% of that. It's something for an old man to do. Right?
Thanks for your help.

**jimmie 48** · December 7th, 2016, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by wlben

Okay. Thanks. I got it. I've been doing that, but just to add carbs not the fat. Didn't think much about the fat.
So. Should I keep on eating to get my "FAT" (as well as my protein) into the Green?
The reason I ask is because I enjoy putting all my food into my "Daily View" and seeing where I'm at. I googled and found that I should be in the 12 to 1500 range for calories and that my fiber should be about 10% of that. It's something for an old man to do. Right?
Thanks for your help.

in phase 3 your percentages should work out in the range of 50/30/20% {fat/protein/carbs}
you could look through some of the threads in the FAQ to see more information
Atkins Low Carb Dieting - FAQ's

How much fat do I need to eat?

as to calories.... i never counted them. there wasn't a need to. i was on plan, losing, bp was down, and blood numbers were going in the right direction.

**chinadoll** · December 27th, 2016, 11:15 AM

as you climb the rungs you will eventually get to about 10% carb grams. You fat should be about 60 to 65% of your daily caloric intake and the fiber is important even for young folks. Your low glycemic veggies can supply a lot of fiber, as can foods like avocados.
Some of my favorite high fiber foods are red peppers, jicama, avocado, celery, and of course you can always take psyllium or flax supplements. Another way is to make the one minute muffin in the morning using flax seed. Delicious and healthy